Final Fantasy VI - Brave New World

mmmmmpiracy · January 13, 2020

Hi. First post. created account because Linus mentioned Brave New World and asked for input.

So, FF6 is my favorite game ever (ever ever ever ever), and the Brave New World 2.0 hack just came out for it. I'm making my wife play it at the moment as her first run-through of the game. We're only 9 hours into it (Terra just flew off), and it's amazing. This is so much tighter a script than Ted Woolsey's script. It's a definite localization vs. direct japanese translation, but it's straight-up refreshing to experience. It's miles better than even the GBA script. Miles. Better. So many small (correct) touches.

Thought was put into everything. Things that didn't require thought had thought put into them. It's as if Nasir Gebelli designed FF6.
You know how FF6 always felt buggy and kinda incomplete? This makes it feel whole and robust.
The menus are redesigned, and are intelligent. the Equip menu handles Relics now.
All the characters are vital and useful now. Locke feels like a thief. Shadow feels like a ninja. Sabin feels like a monk. Bannon feels like he's made of tissue paper. Gau doesn't feel awkward/stupid/useless; he's kinda amazing.
Most of the fights require thought now. Undead die when MP = 0. Big mobs get mad when little mobs die first.
Status ailments/effects matter, and are vital to the game. Noiseblaster tool is used constantly now. Imp will nerf immunities. Sabin's blitzes cast sap/stop/slow.
They've reduced weapons/armors/items to intelligent/elegant minimums. You will not miss what's removed.
Armors/Relics/Weapons all give stat boosts now. You equip judiciously now. One Ribbon in the game.
Dried Meat is a staple HP renewer, and you'll always want 99 of them. No Tents.
Why have Genji Glove if Locke/Sabin/etc can dual-wield by default?
Most of the treasure chests are filled with Gold, and that's really really okay.
There is no better version of the Ghost Train fight. Suplex get.
Lots of the stupid plot devices are explained (How do three people use Gau's helmet to swim?) in a way that won't make you angry.
The script is definitely Rated R, but so was FF7. Empire soldiers outside Doma swear appropriately. Sabin swears about like Barrett did in 7.
Appropriate amounts of genuine humor is dispersed throughout the script/story/battle engine in a way to break the tension, including the fight with Whelk/Ymir at the beginning.
The script has already made my wife cry during both the end of Ghost Train, and Sabin's return to Figaro.
Some of the new touches are downright incredible, like giving Narshe residents a Canadian accent, or the Cyan bar scene with the hooker after the serpent trench. I've guffawed a few times already.
Even the puns are funny. Like the lovers in Mobliz.
You can steal a Slim Jim from Vargas on Mt. Kolz. It's kinda funny. Red Bulls are for sale (cast Float, give 250HP, are overpriced). That's really the extent of the inappropriate stuff.
Little nods to other videogames (SMB2's "Clawglip" is a monster, Dragon Warrior IV's "Gum Pod" can be stolen) are present in tasteful amounts.

This localization is filled with love. Pure love for this world, and the game it should have been. If the rest of this game is nearly this good, I don't think I'll ever play vanilla FF6 again.